Tina Joemat-Pettersson protected by Parliament 

The Chairperson of the Portfolio Committee on Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, Lulu Johnson today shut down discussions on the botched fishing rights allocation process, thereby protecting Minister Tina Joemat-Pettersson from parliamentary scrutiny. 

This is completely unacceptable as the committee had together decided that the Department of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries' fishing rights allocation process needed to be discussed urgently and placed it on today's agenda.

Johnson's sudden about-turn is suspicious. He argued that the fishing rights allocation process could not be discussed as it was "a work in progress".

This excuse does not hold water. The  Agriculture Department's fishing rights allocation process was concluded in January this year, amid allegations that there was "blatant arbitrariness and unlawfulness of the process". Moreover, on-going projects are discussed in Parliament all the time.

The DA will today write to Lulu Johnson requesting that he provide the committee with a full explanation for his reasons for protecting Joemat-Pettersson. If this is not provided, we will take his issue to the Speaker of the National Assembly, Max Sisulu. 

It is sad to see parliamentary processes being abused to protect members of the executive from scrutiny.

The DA will continue to fight for the rights of our fishing communities. We will not let this matter rest.

Statement issued by Pieter van Dalen MP, DA Shadow Deputy Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, February 11 2014

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